Copyright law gives ownership of a photograph to the person who authored/created the photograph. However, there are currently no methods to conclusively prove who authored (e.g., “photographed,” “shot,” or “took”) a digital photograph. Using raw image files and exchangeable image file format (“EXIF”), a digital photograph may be proven to have been created with a particular digital camera, but the photographer of the digital photograph cannot be proven.
Currently, a person who has physical possession of (1) the digital camera used to create a digital photograph and (2) the raw image file corresponding to the digital photograph generally has the best claim to ownership and copyright of the digital photograph, regardless of who actually authored the digital photograph. Other techniques to prove authorship of a disputed digital photograph include providing circumstantial evidence, such as a sequence of digital photographs that were authored at approximately the same time as and include elements of the disputed digital photograph, testimony from persons identified in the disputed digital photograph, etc. However, these techniques are often labor and/or time intensive and often do not conclusively establish authorship of the disputed digital photograph.